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Thursday, November 17, 2011

caramel apple cake. cheddar cheese apple pie. and days that are beautiful

i am a few days deep back from Kentucky. it is unseasonably warm for November, but what remains the same is that it grows dark at 5pm without fail, it is a month of glutton consumption and i give thanks:

pie. a bounty of nature's sweet apples, picked for the express purpose of baking and sharing. washed down with tea, in the afternoon sunlight, with rowdy nephews underfoot. (cheddar cheese apple pie recipe below)

or cake. to share with family, new and old, young and aged. strong spice only for the mature palette. recipe: caramel apple cake. (note: the caramel sauce is runny, i don't know how she managed to keep it on top but kudos to her. i also used roasted cashews in lieu of peanuts.)

i won't lie, it was a whirlwind time, i'd be hard pressed to tell you exactly all the places i visited, all the foods i consumed, but i can show you a few of the beautiful things i saw:

finally, as promised, the cheddar cheese crust apple pie. a pie that i tasted years ago at a broad's apartment, doing crafts, gossiping and of course, noshing.

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in the butter until pea size crumbs form. Stir in the cheese. Combine water and vinegar and gradually stir in until the mixture forms a ball. Divide dough in half and shape into balls. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate over night. (note: i used a food processor.)

Preheat oven to 450° F. Roll one ball out to fit pie place. Roll out top crust and set aside.

In a large bowl, toss apples in lemon juice; drain. Stir in sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Arrange in overlapping rows in pie crust. Dot with butter, sprinkle with anise seed. Cover with top pie crust. Seal and crimp the edges.

Bake on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350° and continue baking for another 30 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from oven, brush lightly with beaten egg, and sprinkle liberally with the sugar. Bake 5-10 minutes more until sugar glazes.